Fun while it lasted...

I haven't had the opportunity to write about "Ashergate 2009" recently, but here's the quick rundown:

My least favorite rapper, Asher Roth, played at Rutgers and tried making light of last years Don Imus/Nappy Headed Hoes comment. Obviously, this did not play out very well. But to give my archnemesis the benefit of the doubt, he was trying to lampoon Imus. Fair enough. Then Roth is quoted in Pitchfork as saying "You guys (other rappers) are disgusting." Again, in all fairness, he was talking about the plight of Africans and how American rappers tend to spend their money. This coming from a guy who basically glorifies date rape on his single about college and used the release date 4/20 as his marketing ploy.

Huh.

Eskay and the Nahright crew weren't having this and issued a Roth ban until homedude apologized, which he did, assuming that Steve Rifkind threw a chair at him or something that he picked up from working with ODB or MOP.

Personally, I think the whole thing was blown out of proportion to a certain degree. More than anything, however, I doubt Asher Roth -- as a white kid from an affluent suburb -- is in any position to talk about how rappers who have typically come from places of poverty should spend their money. Yes, I am being a hypocrite here since superficial musical acts are usually who I talk shit about the most, but given the nature of my upbringing, I feel like I have a much better grasp on the socio-political implications than some severely mediocre college rapper. I'm just sayin'.

That being stated, I'm actually a little bummed that the Roth ban is lifted. The reality is that if the ban had stayed in place, Roth already has such a following (there's no accounting for taste) that just because a singular hip-hop website (even if it's the best one) stops posting about him, it won't hurt his career among fans -- only credible hip-hop heads. Which, as I write this, was probably the point all along. Oh well.

BAN ASHER ROTH!

the problem with genre webzines

Earlier this evening I was cruising through the Interweb Superhighway and this post caught my eye. After I read the motherfucker, I've come to realize that it's self-important crap like that post that ruins music writing for every other person who can actually piece together a proper sentence.

Even though I'm an active participant in Internet writing, it's no secret that easy access to sites like Livejournal, Blogger, Myspace, etc. are single-handedly killing the idea of proper journalism. Any fucking kid with an Internet connection, an e-mail account and a computer can post on these sites and cultivate some ridiculous identity, albeit from behind a glass screen.

I'm starting to see that these kids who continue to post on sites like AP.net feel like they're deserving of a certain amount of respect, even though they're essentially the pop-punk versions of "Current Affair" or "Inside Edition." There's seldom raw talent to find in the musings of these children; only post after post of fucking hogwash.

Many people think that I'm being harsh, but having contributed to a genre magazine that remains nameless (Skratch, ahem), then I feel like I've earned the right to shit talk some poser kid who feels like they're the king/queen of the scene because they discovered Death Cab last year or started wearing Peta2 shirts that they bought at a Strike Anywhere show.

I'm pretty disgusted with the way that these kids feel like they're entitled to some sort of notoriety because they write random crap about some band that people will forget about in six months. I should know, I've been one of these kids.

Here's the difference, though. I went through this bout of self-importance really early on in my writing career. By the time I was 18, I was so jaded by the assholes in bands I had to interview, I didn't really give a shit about the article -- I just liked seeing my name on the byline. I think it's relatively sad when some dude in their 20's is convinced so much that their little website has changed the world to the point where they are deserving of free shows, free CDs and getting mentioned in shitty magazines. My friend Sarah once said the only thing you deserve in life is death, and I'm apt to believe her statement.

It's not like it matters though. Most of these kids won't ever understand the rush and excitementto see your name in print media. Once the Internet collapses on itself, they'll have no proof that they wrote shit.

What does this have to do with my usual rants about shitty bands? Well nothing and everything. I make no bones about what I do via this forum. I write about bands that I like or dislike, songs that I think are fire and I occasionally post a video on here. Earlier this week, I was asked to contribute to a publication that has very little to do with art or music and it was the first piece that I've written in years that had nothing to do with a band or a movie. And I liked it.

I don't ever think that there will be a time in my life when I don't want to discuss music or pop culture, but writing something completely different than what I'm used to made me realize that I am not a one-trick pony and that these kids can have their free shows and shit. I'll have piece of mind.

blake lewis gives seattle a bad name, seattle responds by voting for his lame ass because he's "representing"

The poster boy for jockish-dudes-gone-emo-gone-hip-hop, Blake Lewis, placed himself in the upper echelon of douchebags by simultaneously raping Bon Jovi and Rahzel's style in one fell swoop.

Last night, the "American Idol" contestant decided to remix Bon Jovi's uber-crappy song "You Give Love a Bad Name" by adding some of his lackluster beatbox skills to "scratch" effects. Of course, the judges ate all this up like the elderly eating Old Country Buffet's Mac & Cheese, because, what else do they know? While I'm not the first person to suggest it, the three judges of "American Idol" are hardly cutting edge talent finders, even if "Forever Your Girl" is one of my favorite albums of all time. It's pretty apparent that Blake Lewis is poised to win the show, which may bring some notoriety to my little city, but that twatwaffle is not the guy I want to be representing the 206.